<p>I plan on going to graduate school and I know that most schools will require 3 LORs. I'm currently involved with research, so the professor in charge of the lab I work at will definitely be a LOR source. The other 2 is what I'm not sure on how to get really good ones. They will come from professors within my field who have taught/TEACHING me classes, but how do you go about acquiring really good LORs from these professors? What should you talk with them about? Also, do you ever get to read what professors say about you on an LOR? Thanks, advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>If the professor gives you a copy of the LOR you get to see it. That has happened to me once.</p>
<p>Any form of advice will help me, please.</p>
<p>Don’t be afraid to ask them if they’ll write you a strong letter. I taught for a while, and I had students asking me for letters. There were some I just didn’t know at all – quiet in class, never came to see me, average grades. I tried to be kind when I told them I was perhaps not the best person to ask. If they had no one else, I asked them to prepare some materials and come see me to discuss their plans in person. Basically, I wanted to help them. I think most teachers would feel this way. So, try to think of what you can do to make it easier for your profs to help you. And go see them in person if you can. Also, it really helped to write a good letter if I had a sense of what the student’s goals were.</p>
<p>Conversing with a professor sounds intimidating to me. Some professors I’ve had before seemed hostile when students went to their office hours, but there are those who aren’t. If you constantly go to their office hours needing help on homework, would that be bad? I never goto office hours right now because I understand the material that I"m learning this semester, but idk about the next.</p>
<p>Yes, it would be bad to keep going for help on the HW. That would be tedious. And if your class has a TA, you are probably expected to go to the TA with HW problems. But it should be fine to go to discuss topics that interested you or to ask for advice about grad school. If the prof acts like a jerk, that is useful information. You probably DON’T want a LOR from him/her. Don’t be intimidated. The worst that can happen is that you will leave knowing who NOT to get a letter from.</p>
<p>Don’t go with questions just to ask questions. No one wants to help you with questions you can and should find answers to on your own. That will not impress anyone the right way. And don’t think you have to go week after week. Even one conversation can make you memorable.</p>